Let me start by saying that one of the things that annoys me is people who believe in a young earth who seem to be tying themselves in knots trying to prove that the earth is only a few thousand years old (if you are a young earth, please read on, you might find something that is more pleasing to you later).
As we know Genesis 1 talks about 6 days, and on the basis of this young earthers believe that the earth is a few thousand years old. Now the fundamental point is what God intends us to understand form Genesis 1, and I find it hard to believe that God was thinking "what you guys really need to know is that I created the earth in 6 days flat". It seems far more likely that God wants us to know that we were created, why we were created, and why things aren't working.
Now there is a lot of scientific evidence that points in the direction of the earth and the universe being several billion years old. However, as a mathematician there is something that worries me about this. No one was there. Science is based on observation and repeatability, Now by the very nature of things none of us were there to observe creation, and we cannot repeat the process in order to test our ideas. Moreover, we have scientific observations of about one to two hundred years, with less scientific observations from a few hundred to a few thousand years. In mathematics one of the most dangerous things you can do is extrapolation. If you have some data points you can make predictions within the data range, and they are likely to be reasonably accurate. However, to go beyond the data range is extremely dangerous. In the case of the age of the earth we are extrapolating from a few hundred years to billions of years. That at least calls for a degree of humility and caution on the part of those who argue for an old earth.
This does not mean that we cannot make any suggestions about the age of the earth, just that we ought to be careful. On the other hand some of the arguments against an old earth are equally dodgy. Again as a mathematician, I know that it is possible for a system with a few basic rules can lead to an extremely complex system. Some of the arguments or concerns about an old earth are based on a small view of God. We may find it hard to imagine billions of years, but that need not be a problem to God.
As we know Genesis 1 talks about 6 days, and on the basis of this young earthers believe that the earth is a few thousand years old. Now the fundamental point is what God intends us to understand form Genesis 1, and I find it hard to believe that God was thinking "what you guys really need to know is that I created the earth in 6 days flat". It seems far more likely that God wants us to know that we were created, why we were created, and why things aren't working.
Now there is a lot of scientific evidence that points in the direction of the earth and the universe being several billion years old. However, as a mathematician there is something that worries me about this. No one was there. Science is based on observation and repeatability, Now by the very nature of things none of us were there to observe creation, and we cannot repeat the process in order to test our ideas. Moreover, we have scientific observations of about one to two hundred years, with less scientific observations from a few hundred to a few thousand years. In mathematics one of the most dangerous things you can do is extrapolation. If you have some data points you can make predictions within the data range, and they are likely to be reasonably accurate. However, to go beyond the data range is extremely dangerous. In the case of the age of the earth we are extrapolating from a few hundred years to billions of years. That at least calls for a degree of humility and caution on the part of those who argue for an old earth.
This does not mean that we cannot make any suggestions about the age of the earth, just that we ought to be careful. On the other hand some of the arguments against an old earth are equally dodgy. Again as a mathematician, I know that it is possible for a system with a few basic rules can lead to an extremely complex system. Some of the arguments or concerns about an old earth are based on a small view of God. We may find it hard to imagine billions of years, but that need not be a problem to God.
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